Reporter associated to Navalny gets imprisoned

(MENAFN) A Moscow court has sentenced four Russian journalists from Reuters, the Associated Press, and SOTAvision to five and a half years in prison each on charges of extremism. The journalists were found guilty of working with the Anti-Corruption Foundation (FBK) and the NavalnyLIVE YouTube channel, both of which are considered extremist organizations banned in Russia.

The individuals convicted are Antonina Favorskaya, Artyom Kriger, Konstantin Gabov, and Sergey Karelin. They were arrested last year on accusations of collecting materials and producing content for Navalny’s foundation. The court also imposed a three-year ban preventing the journalists from managing or operating websites. The trial was held behind closed doors, though some international diplomats from Australia, Luxembourg, the Czech Republic, France, Germany, the US, the Netherlands, and the EU Delegation attended the sentencing.

Prosecutors claimed that Favorskaya, 35, was involved in producing and editing videos for FBK, a charge she denied as "absurd." Kriger, 24, faced similar allegations. SOTAvision, their employer, refuted the accusations, insisting that neither journalist worked for Navalny's organizations. Gabov, 38, worked as a freelance journalist for Reuters and various Russian and Belarusian media outlets, while Karelin, 42, contributed to the Associated Press.

Earlier this year, three of Navalny’s former lawyers were sentenced to prison for aiding the opposition figure’s activities from prison. Navalny himself was serving a 19-year sentence for extremism charges when he died in prison in February 2024.

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